There are so many ways for individuals to stay healthy! I am by no means a health professional so please consult with your doctor if you are feeling ill or if you’re not sure about any of these tips or tricks that I use. Every body is different.
Here are some things that I use to help boost my immune system, stay healthy, and recover quickly.
Some of the links in this blog are commissioned links. This means I may earn a small commission when you use these links. It doesn’t cost you anything and I cannot see who purchases what.
Lypo-spheric Vitamin C
This specific kind of Vitamin C is better than your standard Vitamin C (you know those chewables you might of had as a kid – or even as an adult) because it absorbs better in your body. Often times less than 20% of traditional tablets Vitamin C actually get absorbed into your body unlike Lypo-spheric Vitamin C which has about a 98% absorption rate. You can read more about Lypo-spheric Vitamin C here. Keep in mind that some Lypo-spheric Vitamin C doesn’t taste very pleasant. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Haha. Here’s a commissioned link to our favorite Lypo-spheric Vitamin C (we have tried three different kinds – this is the easiest to take and definitely the most popular worldwide).
Raw garlic
Growing up my mom teased that I “didn’t even know how to blow [my] nose” because I never got sick. Whenever I would feel something coming on, I was spoon fed pressed garlic and given some Emergen-c to wash it down after holding it on the back of my tongue for as long as I could. It does burn slightly if you’re not used to it, but it’s definitely worth it. We do this two to three times a day at the first sign of sickness and continue until we feel better. Garlic contains maganese, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, selenium, fiber, and more. It is antibacterial and antiviral. If you can’t stand taking raw garlic, they have several options of odorless garlic supplements such as these. We take a supplement that includes garlic, vitamin C, zinc, echinacea, and olive leaf but I can’t find them online. This one and this one are quite similar in the fact that they include a lot of different important immune boosters.
Echinacea
Echinacea is a flowering plant that can be taken to strengthen the immune system. Research shows that Echinacea increases the number of white blood cells, which fight infections. When we are feeling sick, we take immune boosting supplements that have Echinacea in them. You can purchase your own here on Amazon!
Zinc
Zinc keeps the immune system strong, helps heal wounds, and supports normal growth. Zinc can help shorten the length of a cold especially when taken within 24 hours of becoming sick. Many natural common cold multi-vitamins have Zinc included! That’s personally what I do but if you would like to purchase zinc on it’s own, you can do so here.
Olive Leaf
Olive leaf naturally supports a healthy immune system. It can also be found in several of the mixed vitamin supplements. Olive leaf extract is known for it’s ability to boost your immune system rather than manipulating your system just to mask your symptoms.
Multi-vitamins
Multivitamins are supplements that contain many different vitamins and minerals. They can help with brain function, eye health, and heart health. These are great for every day health especially for those that may be lacking nutriets. This is the one that both my husband and I take!
Probiotics
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that promote a healthy gut. They help with digestion, immune support, weight loss, and more. You can find probiotics naturally in foods/drinks such as yogurt, kombucha, sauerkraut, miso, pickles, and so much more! Many people believe that all disease begins in the gut so improving your gut health is vital to your overall health and immunity.
To learn more about the health benefits of probiotics click here. To learn more about your gut health click here.
Essential oils:
On Guard, Thieves, oregano, rosemary, cinnamon/clove, and tea tree oils are some that come to mind when talking about immune supporting essential oils. Much like how we use other natural products (garlic, probiotics, olive leaf, echinacea, zinc, and vitamin c) to improve and support our health, we can use essential oils as well. Essential oils are, “a natural oil typically obtained by distillation and having the characteristic odour of the plant or other source from which it is extracted,” (Google seach). It’s important to note that you should be using pure 100% essential oils. Many brands of oils are actually contamined with fillers which are not safe for your skin when applied or your body when taken internally.
You can use most, if not all, of these oils internally and externally through diffusing, applying to the skin (with a carrier oil), or even used in cooking/drinks/pill capsules. There will be a seperate blog here for how you can use essential oils in your immune support routine.
Daily exercise
It’s no secret that our bodies are meant to be active. It’s hard to want to be active when sick so keeping up with exercise on the daily is even more important. To learn more about how exercise can help improve your health, check out this article.
Eat healthy/immune boosting foods
Just as we talked about above with using oils and other natural medicinal plants for your health, eating healthy food is extremely important. You can check out this blog with some ideas of immune boosting foods (you might be surprised)! If you have an immune boosting recipe you would like to share with us, feel free to come to my Facebook page and let me know!
Little to no alcohol or sugar if possible
Have you ever gotten sick after a big night out? It might have been because drinking excessive alcohol can weaken your immune system. Especially when you’re already sick you should refrain from drinking alcohol and from consuming sugar. You can read more about the affect that alcohol has on your immune system here. You can read a recent article about how sugar weakens your immune system here.
Wash and sanitize your hands
This one is quite obvious but of course, I had to include it! Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap in warm running water for the best clean. Use sanitizer only when you need to and keep in mind that the alcohol in hand saniziter can be very drying for your hands so don’t forget to moisturize. I will be linking a bunch of fun and easy DIY hand sanitizer recipes here.
I hope you learned a lot about how to maintain and boost your immune system! If you’d like to contribute more tips and tricks or you learned something and want to keep learning more, join me on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with new information and blogs! You can also follow me on Pinterest! I can’t wait to see you there.
Signing off,
Mary Taylor <3
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